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The Passing Zone

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The Passing Zone is one of the most successful and sought-after corporate acts working today.

Owen Morse and Jon Wee met at a juggling convention and instantly knew they were destined to be a team. But they decided to graduate from college first. Which they both did. Rather than pursue careers in Economics and Psychology, they lit some torches, and started throwing stuff into the air. And things clicked. Two weeks after their first performance together they won the Silver Medal at the International Juggler's Association Teams Competition. The next year they won the Gold. That recognition earned an invitation to appear at the renowned Comedy and Magic Club in Los Angeles, where on their first night they were approached by the "Tonight Show" talent scout and booked for their first national television appearance. Johnny Carson enjoyed them so much they were asked back less than a year later. Their first feature film followed, The Addams Family Movie, where Jon and Owen doubled for Gomez (Raul Julia) and Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) in the climactic Mamushka dagger-passing scene. More recently, they appeared in the award-winning comedy documentary, The Aristocrats.

The Passing Zone's first London appearance was in the Royal Variety Performance at the Dominion Theatre, performing for Prince Charles and sharing the bill with Tony Bennett and Riverdance. They expanded their US national television audience by passing clubs over the heads of the Miss America Pageant contestants during the swimsuit competition, demonstrating almost inhuman concentration skills! Most recently, they were finalists on NBC's "America's Got Talent" where they lost one million dollars to an 11-year-old. They were the highest-rated comedy act, and they eventually won the affection of David Hasselhoff who previously claimed to hate all jugglers.

Corporate entertainment and keynote speaking gradually became their primary market, for which they are a natural fit. Their act is clean, so it offends no one. They appeal to all ages, and all walks of life, so whether their audience is a group of mechanical contractors, software engineers, hairdressers, or billionaire business leaders, they are always a hit. Not only do they entertain, but they customize their performances by juggling a company's product, incorporating their slogans, and inspiring groups to be better teams.

Their corporate career really took off after a national Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) event in Atlanta, which was quickly followed by other MDRTs in Chicago and Singapore. After main stage appearances at Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the National Speakers Association, YPO, ICPA, and others, the industry took notice, and they've been off and running ever since. Clients such as eBay, Firestone, Old Navy, Microsoft, IBM, Kodak, and IASB have brought Jon and Owen to their events to liven things up, and motivate their people. The London Business Forum recently enlisted The Passing Zone, and it was one of their highest-rated events ever.

Jon and Owen have published articles on Teamwork, Work-Life Balance, and Taking Risks in countless industry periodicals including Business People, Special Events, Smart Meetings, Networking Times, Financial Executives, Successful Meetings, Home Business, and many more. They were chosen as a Best Bet for entertainment by the Wall Street Journal, and Special Events Magazine named them one of the Hottest 26 Speakers.

Jon and Owen are known as much for their comedy as their juggling skills. They were featured twice on the gala stage at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and have opened for comedians Bill Cosby, George Carlin, Bob Newhart, Bob Hope, and Penn & Teller. Television appearances have included "Comic Strip Live," "An Evening at The Improv," "MADtv," Penn & Teller's "Sin City Spectacular," "Steve Harvey's Big Time," and regular returns to NBC's "Today." And they were commentators on ESPN for their coverage of the World Juggling Federation competitions.

The Passing Zone have been awarded five Guinness World Records and 18 Gold Medals from the International Juggler's Association. They were recently presented with that organization's Award of Excellence, for "excellence in the art of juggling through professional performance," which is the most prestigious award in juggling (essentially the Juggling Hall of Fame), given to only thirteen acts worldwide.

KEYNOTES:

Teamwork: The Power of PartnershipJon and Owen don't just talk about teamwork - they DO it. The Passing Zone shows your people how to be a high-performance team. It takes trust, cooperation, communication, and practice. Chainsaws fly through the air, audience members become part of the team, and your group will laugh, gasp, and wipe tears from their eyes during this hilarious keynote from one of America's most dynamic performing duos. Read more

The Passing Zone on ICE!Innovation. Collaboration. Execution. These are the cornerstones of success for this exciting and hilarious duo. In this new keynote, Jon and Owen show your group how these principles lead to success, all while having a great time. If your people can Innovate, Collaborate, and Execute, they can accomplish great things (even without 3 chainsaws!). Serve your next event over ICE! Read more

Scott is the Conflict Whisperer and the Fun Maker! Scott is known as the most engaging, insightful & fun speaker in the conflict resolution arena. He has presented to more than 10,000 professionals and is in high demand as a keynote speaker and workshop facilitator.

Scott has been awarded CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) designation - the highest international measure of speaking competence. He is accredited as one of Australia's top 100 certified speaking professionals by the Professional Speakers Australia (PSA) and is recognised by the Global Speakers Federation (GSF) as among the top 12% of professional speakers worldwide.

From the war-torn streets of Northern Island to reaching the pinnacle of pop music as the lead singer of INXS, Australian-based Ciaran Gribbin is now finding favour as a keynote conference speaker with an inspirational story to tell. His journey from a young boy growing up in a bitterly divided society in North Ireland, to falling in love with a girl from the wrong side of the conflict, and then following his dream to make it in the cut-throat music world is a captivating story and one that is now capturing the attention of corporate event planners.

Andrea, a visionary thinker in financial services and superannuation, offers compelling insights into corporate strategies, leadership and cross industry transformation. In conjunction with her Board appointments and involvement in innovation, technology and human resources, she focuses on how businesses can most effectively engage with their customers and clients via multi-channel and new age service models.

Starting her career in accounting and academia, for the past 14 years, as Founder, Managing Director and CEO of the SMSF Association, Andrea has built a national and international reputation as a prime mover in building Australia’s superannuation and retirement income systems to be the third best in the world.

She is recognised as a thought leader in Australia’s Superannuation and Finance Service sectors and is the face and voice of SMSF. Andrea is significantly involved in the Finance and SMSF sectors, building integrity, best practice standards for advice, education, and advocacy through her participation in and membership of a range of advisory committees to Government, Treasury and the Regulators.Andrea was awarded ‘Woman of the Year’ – Money Management | Super Review, Australian Women in Financial Services Awards 2014.

As the face of the SMSF Industry she has a significant experience speaking to CEOs and industry leaders and is a commanding on-stage presence.

Alex Allwood is regarded as one of Australia’s leading authorities on customer experience. An engaging speaker and presenter, Alex’s customised conference keynotes, seminar presentations and workshops are described as ‘powerful, inspiring and actionable’.

A massive thank you to you both for all your assistance from selecting to co-ordinating the speakers for our annual ProLoan conference. Feedback was that this year’s speakers where the best they had EVER heard at ANY event. So this is pretty amazing, because they do go to a lot of sessions like these.

Director of Network Relationships - Proloan (aust) pty ltd

Again this year you and your team have been fantastic and extremely helpful. In regards to you Sharm, you have been an absolute star and phenomenal help with our speakers and presenters, a great communicator, wealth of knowledge and so prompt with responding and looking at ways to cater to our needs.

Event Manager Fitness Australia

I would recommend, without hesitation, the services of Jane Rowland Smith and Ovations. Jane answered a last minute call to arrange a guest speaker for our principals. Nothing was too much effort, all was arranged within hours, and went very smoothly. The guest speaker was exactly what we required and our brief was followed. Thank you Jane and the team at Ovations.

All aspects of the process has always gone seamlessly with Ovations and we will continue to seek your assistance for the awards in the coming years.

Thank you again, your help has meant that our Awards are very professional and extremely well received by our members and guests.

Executive Assistant BSCAA NSW Division

Jane, I personally want to thank you for all of your support, advice, patience and all round kindness that you have given me over the last 3 or so years. This event would not have been as successful without the valuable MC’s you have recommended and the support you provided me when it all just seemed too hard